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WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH 
THE BIRDS 


BOOKS BY JOHANNA 

SPYRI 

HEIDI: Complete Edition 

Net, 

$1.35 

MONI, THE GOAT BOY . 


.50 

THE ROSE CHILD .... 

<1 

.50 

WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 

(( 

.50 

ILLUSTRATED IN COLOR 



THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 

NEW YORK 





Page 23 . 

‘‘ Up in the ash-trees the birds piped and sang merrily together d" 




NEW YORK 

THOMAS Y CROWELL COMPANY 
POBUSHERS 





Copyright, 1917, 

By THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 



JUL 12 19)7 


©CI,A4fJ7827 

> I , 




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0 

I 

CONTENTS 

CHAPTER FIRST 

PAGE 

Old Mary Ann ..9 

CHAPTER SECOND 

At the Grandmother^s . . . ..... . 2d 

CHAPTER THIRD 

Another Life 27 

CHAPTER FOURTH 

Hard Times . . . • 42 

CHAPTER FIFTH 

The Birds Are Still Singing 55 

CHAPTER SIXTH 

Sami Sings Too 68 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Up in the ash-trees the birds 

MERRILY together 


PIPED AND SANG 

. Frontispiece 


Where have you come from with 
hold goods ? . . . 


ALL YOUR HOUSE- 

. Page 33 



Such stray waifs as you are not willing to do y 
ANYTHING ..... Page 64 




WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH 
THE BIRDS 


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CHAPTER FIRST 


OLD MARY ANN 

F or three days the Spring sun had been 
shining out of a clear sky and casting a 
gleaming, golden coverlet over the blue 
waters of Lake Geneva. Storm and rain had 
ceased. The breeze murmured softly and pleas- 
antly up in the ash-trees, and all around in the 
green fields the yellow buttercups and snow- 
white daisies glistened in the bright sunshine. 
Under the ash-trees, the clear brook was running 
with the cool mountain water and feeding the 
gaily nodding primroses and pink anemones on 
the hillside, as they grew and bloomed down 
close to the water. 

On the low wall by the brook, in the shadow of 
the ash-trees, an old woman was sitting. She 
was called “Old Mary Ann” throughout the 
whole neighborhood. Her big basket, the weight 
of which had become a little heavy, she had put 
down beside her. She was on her way back from 
La Tour, the little old town, with the vine-cov- 
ered church tower and the ruined castle, the high 


10 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


turrets of which rose far across the blue lake. 
Old Mary Ann had taken her work there. This 
consisted in all kinds of mending which did not 
need to be done particularly well, for the woman 
was no longer able to do fine work, and never 
could do it. 

Old Mary Ann had had a very changeable 
life. The place where she now found herself 
was not her home. The language of the country 
was not her own. From the shady seat on the 
low wall, she now looked contentedly at the 
sunny fields, then across the murmuring brook 
to the hillside where the big yellow primroses 
nodded, while the birds piped and sang in the 
green ash-trees above her, as if they had the 
greatest festival to celebrate. 

“Every Spring, people think it never was so 
beautiful before, when they have already seen so 
many,” she now said half aloud to herself, and 
as she gazed at the fields so rich in flowers, many 
of the past years rose up and passed before her, 
with all that she had experienced in them. 

As a child she had lived far beyond the moun- 
tains. She knew so well how it must look over 
there now at her father’s house, which stood in a 
field among white-blooming pear-trees. Over 


OLD MARY ANN 


11 


yonder the large village with its many houses 
could be seen. It was called Zweisimmen. 
Everybody called their house the sergeant’s 
house, although her father quite peacefully tilled 
his fields. But that came from her grandfather. 
When quite a young fellow, he had gone over 
the mountains to Lake Geneva arid then still 
farther to Savoy. Under a Duke of Savoy he 
had taken part in all sorts of military expedi- 
tions and had not returned home until he was 
an old man. He always wore an old uniform 
and allowed himself to be called sergeant. Then 
he married and Mary Ann’s father was his only 
child. The old man lived to be a hundred years 
old, and every child in all the region round knew 
the old sergeant. 

Mary Ann had three brothers, but as soon as 
one of them grew up he disappeared, she knew 
not where. Only this much she understood, that 
her mother mourned over them, but her father 
said quite resignedly every time: “We can’t 
help it, they will go over the mountains; they 
take it from their grandfather.” She had never 
heard anything more about her brothers. 

When Mary Ann grew up and married, her 
young husband also came into the house among 


12 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


the pear-trees, for her father was old and could 
no longer do his work alone. But after a few 
years Mary Ann buried her young husband; a 
burning fever had taken him off. Then came 
hard times for the widow. She had her child, 
little Sami, to care for, besides her old, infirm 
parents to look after, and moreover there was all 
the work to be done in the house and in the fields 
which until now her husband had attended to. 
She did what she could, but it was of no use, the 
land had to be given up to a cousin. The house 
was mortgaged, and Mary Ann hardly knew 
how to keep her old parents from want. Grad- 
ually young Sami grew up and was able to help 
the cousin in the fields. Then the old parents 
died about the same time, and Mary Ann hoped 
now by hard work and her son’s help little by 
little to pay up her debts and once more take 
possession of her fields and house. But as soon 
as her father and mother were buried, her son 
Sami, who was now eighteen years old, came to 
her and said he could no longer bear to stay at 
home, he must go over the mountains and so 
begin a new life. This was a great shock to the 
mother, but when she saw that persuasion, re- 
monstrance and entreaty were all in vain her 


OLD MARY ANN 


13 


father’s words came to her mind and she said 
resignedly, “It can’t be helped ; he takes it from 
his great-grandfather.” 

But she would not let the young man go away 
alone, and he was glad to have his mother go 
with him. So she wandered with him over the 
mountains. In the little village of Chailly, which 
lies high up on the mountain slope and looks 
down on the meadows rich in flowers and the 
blue Lake Geneva, they found work with the 
jolly wine-grower Malon. This man, with curly 
hair already turning grey and a kindly round 
face, lived alone with his son in the only house 
left standing, near a crooked maple-tree. 

Mary Ann received a room for herself and 
was to keep house for Herr Malon, and keep 
everything in order for him and his son. Sami 
was to work for good pay in,Malon’s beautiful 
vineyard. The widow Mary Ann passed several 
years here in a more peaceful way than she had 
ever known before. 

.When the fourth Summer came to an end, 
Sami said to her one day: 

“Mother, I must really marry young Marietta 
of St. Legier, for I am so lonely away from 
her.” 


14 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


His mother knew Marietta well and besides 
she liked the pretty, clever girl, for she was not 
only always happy but there were few girls so 
good and industrious. So she rejoiced with her 
son, although he would have to go away from 
her to live with Marietta and her aged father 
in St. Legier, for she was indispensable to him. 
Herr Malon’s son also brought a young wife 
home, and so Mary Ann had no more duties 
there, and had to look out for herself. She kept 
her room for a small rent, and was able to earn 
enough to support herself. She now knew many 
people in the neighborhood, and obtained enough 
work. 

Mary Ann pondered over all these things, and 
when her thoughts returned from the distant 
past to the present moment, and she still heard 
the birds above her singing and rejoicing un- 
tiringly, she said to herself : 

“They always sing the same song and we 
should be able to sing with them. Only trust 
in the dear Lord! He always helps us, although 
we may often think there is no possible way.” 

Then Mary Ann left the low wall, took her 
basket up again on her arm and went through 
the fragrant meadows of Burier up towards 


OLD MARY ANN 


15 


Chailly. From time to time she cast an anxious 
look in the direction of St. Legier. She knew 
that young Marietta was lying sick up there and 
that her son Sami would now have hard work 
and care, for a much smaller Sami had just come 
into the world. To-morrow Mary Ann would 
go over and see how things were going with her 
son and if she ought to stay with him and help. 

Mary Ann had scarcely stepped into her little 
room and put on her house dress, to prepare her 
supper, when she heard some one coming along 
with hurried footsteps. The door was quickly 
thrown open and in stepped her son Sami with 
a very distressed face. Under his arm he car- 
ried a bundle wrapped up in one of Marietta’s 
aprons. This he laid on the table, threw himself 
down and sobbed aloud, with his head in his 
arms: 

“It is all over, mother, all over; Marietta is 
dead!” 

“Oh, for Heaven’s sake, what are you say- 
ing?” cried his mother in the greatest horror. 
“Oh, Sami, is it possible?” 

Then she lifted Sami gently and continued in 
a trembling voice: 

“Come, sit down beside me and tell me all 


16 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


about it. Is she really dead? Oh, when did it 
happen? How did it come so quickly?” 

Sami willingly dropped down on a chair be- 
side his mother. But then he buried his face in 
his hands and went on sobbing again. 

“Oh, I can’t bear it, I must go away, mother, 
I can’t bear it here any longer, it is all over!” 

“Oh, Sami, where would you go?” said his 
mother, weeping. “We have already come over 
the mountains, where would you go from here?” 

“I must go across the water, as far as I pos- 
sibly can, I can’t stay here any longer. I can- 
not, mother,” declared Sami. “I must go across 
the great water as far as possible!” 

“Oh, not that!” cried Mary Ann. “Don’t be 
so rash! Wait a little, until you can think more 
calmly; it will seem different to you.” 

“No, mother, no, I must go away. I am 
forced to it; I can’t do any different,” cried 
Sami, almost wild. 

His mother looked at him in terror, but she 
said nothing more. She seemed to hear her 
father saying: “It can’t be helped. He takes it 
from his grandfather.” And with a sigh she 
said: 

“It will have to be so.” 


OLD MARY ANN 


17 


Then there sounded from the bundle a strange 
peeping, exactly as if a chicken were smothering 
inside. “What have you put in the bundle, 
Sami?” asked the mother, going towards it, to 
loosen the firmly tied apron. 

“That’s so, I had almost forgotten it, mother,” 
replied Sami, wiping his eyes, “I have brought 
the little boy to you, I don’t know what to do 
with it.” 

“Oh, how could you pack him up so! Yes, 
yes, you poor little thing,” said the grandmother 
soothingly, taking the diminutive Sami out of 
one wrapping and then a second and a third. 

The father Sami had wrapped the little baby 
first in its clothes, then in a shawl, and then in 
the apron as tight as possible, so that it couldn’t 
slip out on the way, and fall on the ground. 
When little Sami was freed from the smother- 
ing wrappings and could move his arms and 
legs he fought with all his limbs in the air and 
screaihed so pitifully that his grandmother 
thought it seemed exactly as if he already knew 
what a great misfortune had come to him. 

But father Sami said perhaps he was hungry, 
for since the evening before no one had paid 
any attention to the little baby. This seemed 


18 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


to the sympathetic Mary Ann quite too cruel, 
and she realised that if she didn’t care for the 
poor little mite it would die. She wrapped him 
up again carefully in his blanket, but not around 
his head, and carried him upright on her arm, 
not under it, as one carries a bundle. Then she 
ran all around her room to collect milk, a dish 
and fire together, so that the starving little crea- 
ture might have some nourishment. As she sat 
on her stool, and the little one eagerly sipped 
the milk, while his tiny little hand tightly clasped 
his grandmother’s forefinger like a life-pre- 
server, she said, greatly touched: 

“Yes, indeed, you little Sami, you poor little 
orphan, I will do what I can for you and the 
dear Lord will not forsake us.” 

And to the big Sami she said: 

“I will keep him, but don’t take any rash 
steps! In the first great sorrow many a one 
does what he later regrets. See, you can’t run 
away from sorrow, it runs with you. Stay and 
bear what the dear Lord sends. He is not an- 
gry with you. Hold to him still in time of 
sorrow, then the sun will shine to-morrow! It 
will be the same with you as it has been with 
so many others.” Sami had listened in silence. 


OI.D MARY ANN 


19 


but like one who does not understand what he 
hears. 

“Good night, mother! May God reward you 
for what you do for the boy,” he said then, after 
wiping his eyes again. Then he pressed his 
mother’s hand, and went out of the door. 


CHAPTER SECOND 

AT THE GRANDMOTHER^S 

O LD Mary Ann had now to begin over 
again, where she had left off twenty-one 
years before, to bring up a little Sami. 
But then she was fresh and strong, she had her 
husband by her side, and lived at home among 
friends and acquaintances. Now she was in a 
strange land and was a worn-out woman, and 
felt that her strength would not last much longer. 
But little Sami did not realise all this. He was 
tended and cared for as if his grandmother 
wanted to make up to him every moment for 
what he had lost, and she was always saying 
to him, pityingly: 

“You poor little thing, you have nobody in 
the world now but an old grandmother.” 

Moreover it was so. Father Sami could not 
be consoled. As soon as his young wife was 
buried he went away, and must have landed a 
long time ago in the far away country. 

Little Sami grew finely, and as his grand- 
20 


AT THE GRANDMOTHER’S 


21 


mother talked with him a great deal, he began 
very early to imitate her. His words became 
more and more distinct, and when the end of 
his second year came, he talked very plainly and 
in whole sentences. His grandmother didn’t 
know what to do for joy, when she realised 
that her little Sami spoke not a word of French, 
but pure Swiss-German, as she had heard it only 
in her native land. He spoke exactly like his 
grandmother, who was indeed the only one he 
had to talk with* 

Now every day her baoy gave her a new sur- 
prise. First he began to say after her the little 
prayer she repeated for him morning and even- 
ing; then he said it all alone. She had to weep 
for joy when the little one began to sing after 
her the little Summer song she had learned in 
her own childhood and had always sung to him, 
and one day suddenly knew the whole song 
from beginning to end and sang one verse after 
another without hesitation. 

In spite of all the grandmother’s trouble and 
work, the years passed so quickly to her, that 
one day when she began to reckon she discov- 
ered that Sami must be fully seven years old. 
Then she thought it was really time that he 


22 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


learned something. But suddenly to send the 
boy to a French school when he didn’t under- 
stand a word of French seemed dreadful to her, 
for he would be as helpless as a chicken in water. 
She would rather try, as well as she possibly 
could, to teach him herself to read. She thought 
it would be very hard but it went quite easily. 
In a short time, the youngster knew all his 
letters, and could even put words together quite 
well. That something could be made out of this 
which he could understand and which he did 
not know before was very amusing to him, and 
he sat over his reading-book with great eager- 
ness. But to go out with his grandmother to 
deliver her mending and to get new work was 
a still greater pleasure to him, for nothing 
pleased him better than roaming through the 
green meadows, then stopping at the brook to 
listen to the birds singing up in the ash-trees. 

The changeable April days had just come to 
an end and the beaming May sun shone so 
warm and alluring that all the flowers looked 
up to it with wide-open petals. Mary Ann with 
Sami by the hand, her big basket on her arm, 
was coming along up from La Tour. The boy 
opened both his eyes as wide as he could, for the 


AT THE GRANDMOTHER’S 


23 


red and blue flowers in the green grass and the 
golden sunshine above them delighted him very 
much. 

“Grandmother,” he said taking a deep 
breath, “to-day we will sit on the low wall for 
twelve long hours, won’t we, really?” 

“Yes, indeed,” assented his grandmother, “we 
will stay there long enough to get well rested 
and enjoy ourselves; but when the sun goes 
down and it grows dark, then we will go. Then 
all the little birds are silent in the trees and the 
old night-owl begins to hoot.” 

This seemed right to Sami, for he didn’t want 
to hear the old owl hoot. Now they had reached 
the wall. A cool shadow was lying on it ; below 
the fresh brook murmured, and up in the ash- 
trees the birds piped and sang merrily together 
and one kept singing very distinctly: 

“Sing too! Sing too!” 

Sami listened. Suddenly he lifted up his 
voice and sang as loud and lustily as the birds 
above, the whole song that his grandmother had 
taught him: 


24 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


1 

Last night Summer breezes blew : — 

All the flowers awake anew, 

Open wide their eyes to see, 

Nodding, bowing in their glee. 

2 

All the merry birds we hear 

Greet the sunshine bright and clear; 

See them flitting thru the sky. 

Singing low and singing high ! 

3 

Flowers in Summer warmth delight: — 

What of Winter and its blight? 

Snowy flelds and forests cold? 

Flowers are by their faith consoled. 

4 

Songsters, all so blithe and gay. 

Know ye what your carols say? 

How will your sweet carols fare 
When your nests the snow-storms tear? 

5 

All the birdlings everywhere 
Now their loveliest songs prepare; 

All the birdlings gayly sing: — 

“Trust the Lord in everything!” 

Then Sami listened very attentively, as if he 
wanted to hear whether the birds really sang so. 


AT THE GRANDMOTHER’S 


25 


“Listen, listen, grandmother!” he said after 
a while. “Up there in the tree is one that doesn’t 
sing like the others. At first he keeps singing 
‘Trust! Trust! Trust! Trust !’ and then the rest 
comes after.” 

“Yes, yes, that is the finch, Sami,” she replied. 
“See, he wants to impress it upon you, so that 
you will think about what will always keep you 
safe and happy. Just listen, now, he is calling 
again: Trust! trust! trust! trust! trust! Only 
trust the dear Lord.” 

Sami listened again. It was really wonder- 
ful, how the finch always sounded above the 
other birds with his emphatic “Trust! trust! 
trust!” “You must never forget what the finch 
calls,” continued the grandmother. “See, Sami, 
perhaps I cannot stay with you much longer, 
and then you will have nb one else, and will 
have to make your way alone. Then the little 
bird’s song can oftentimes be a comfort to you. 
So don’t forget it, and promise me too that 
you will say your little prayer every day, so that 
you will be God-fearing; then no matter what 
happens, it will be well with you.” 

Sami promised that he would never forget to 
pray. Then he became thoughtful and asked 
somewhat timidly: 


26 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


“Must I always be afraid, grandmother?” 

“No, no! Did you think so because I said 
God-fearing? It doesn’t mean that: I will ex- 
plain it to you as well as I can. You see to be 
God-fearing is when one has the dear Lord be- 
fore his eyes in everything he does, and fears and 
hesitates to do what is not pleasing to Him, 
everything that is wicked and wrong. Whoever 
lives so before Him has no reason to fear what 
may happen to him, for such a man has the dear 
Lord’s help everywhere, and if he has to meet 
hardship oftentimes, he knows that the dear 
Lord allows it so, in order that some good may 
come out of it for him, and then he can sing as 
happily as the little birds: ‘Only trust the dear 
Lord!’ Will you remember that well, Sami?” 

“Yes, that I will,” said Sami, decidedly, for 
this pleased him much better, than if he had to 
be always afraid. 

Now the setting sun cast its last long rays 
across the meadows, and disappeared. The 
grandmother left the wall, took Sami by the 
hand and then the two wandered in the rosy 
twilight along the meadow path, then up the 
green vine-clad hill to the little village of 
Chailly up on the mountain. 


CHAPTER THIRD 


ANOTHER LIFE 

O NE morning, a few days later, Mary 
Ann was so tired she couldn’t get up. 
Sami sat beside her waiting for her to 
be fully awake in order to go into the kitchen 
and make the coffee. His grandmother opened 
her eyes once and fell asleep again. She had 
never done anything like this before. Now she 
was really awake. She tried to raise herself up 
a little, then took Sami by the hand and said in 
a low voice: 

“Sami, listen to me, I must tell you something. 
See, when I am no longer with you, you have 
no one else here, and are an entire stranger. But 
there over the mountains you have relatives, and 
you must return to them. Malon will tell you 
how to get there. You must go to Zweisimmen. 
There ask for the sergeant, your cousin, who 
lives in the house with the big pear-trees near 
it. Tell him your grandmother was the ser- 
geant’s Mary Ann and your father was Sami. 
Work hard and willingly, you will have to earn 
27 


28 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


your living. There in the chest is some money 
in the little bag ; take it, it is yours ; don’t spend 
it foolishly. Sami, think of what you promised 
me. Don’t neglect to pray, it will bring you 
comfort and happiness which you will need. Try 
to associate with God-fearing people and live 
with them, then you will learn only good. Go, 
now, Sami, and call Herr Malon. I must talk 
with him.” 

Sami went and came back with the man of 
the house. He stepped up to Mary Ann’s bed, 
and tried to encourage her, as that was his way. 
But he was alarmed at her appearance and 
wanted to go for the doctor, as he told her. But 
she held him fast and tried with great difficulty 
to express herself in his language, for she had 
only a scanty knowledge of it. Malon nodded 
his head understandingly and then hurried away. 
When he returned to the room a couple of hours 
later with the doctor, Sami was still sitting in 
the same place by the bed, waiting very quietly 
for his grandmother to wake up again. The 
doctor drew near the bed. Then he spoke with 
Malon a while, and finally came to Sami. He 
told him his grandmother would never wake 
again, that she was dead. 


ANOTHER LIFE 


29 


Malon was a good man; he said he himself 
would go with Sami part of the way until he 
found some one who could talk with him and 
take him further; but he must put all his be- 
longings together in a bundle. Then the two 
men went away. 

After a while the young woman of the house 
came, for the forsaken boy had deeply aroused 
her sympathy. She found Sami still sitting in 
the same place by the bed. He was looking 
steadfastly at his grandmother and weeping pit- 
eously. The woman spoke to him, but he did 
not understand her. Then she took everything 
out of the cupboard and drawers, packed them 
into a bundle and showed Sami that he was to 
eat the bread and milk on the table. Sami swal- 
lowed the milk obediently, but the woman put 
the bread in his pocket. Then she led the boy 
once more to the bed, that he might take his 
grandmother’s hand in farewell. 

Sami obeyed still sobbing, and let himself be 
led away by the woman. Herr Malon was al- 
ready waiting beside his little cart in which lay 
Sami’s bundle. The boy understood that he 
was to draw the cart, but he knew not where. 
He wept softly to himself for it seemed to him 


30 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


as if he were going out into the wilderness where 
he would be wholly alone. Malon went on ahead 
of him. 

It was the same way Sami had often gone with 
his grandmother down to La Tour. When he 
came to the wall by the brook, he sobbed aloud. 
How lovely it had been there with his grand- 
mother! He could not see the way because of 
his falling tears, but he heard Herr Malon’s 
heavy step in front of him, and he followed 
after. At the little station house above the 
vine-covered church Malon stopped. Soon after 
the train came puffing along. Malon got in and 
pulled Sami after him, and they started away. 
Sami crouched in a corner and did not stir. 
They travelled thus for an hour. Sami did not 
understand a word that was spoken around him, 
although several times one and another tried to 
talk with him a little, for the softly weeping 
boy had indeed awakened their sympathy. 

The train stopped again. Malon got out and 
Sami followed him. They went a short distance 
together and then Malon stepped to the left 
into a large garden and then into the house. 
Here he talked a while with the man of the house, 
who from time to time looked pityingly at Sami. 


ANOTHER LIFE 


31 


Then Malon took Sami’s hand, shook it and left 
him behind alone in the big room. 

After some time the man of the house came 
back and a sturdy fellow behind him. The latter 
began to talk in Sami’s own language. He 
wanted to console the boy and said he would 
soon go on in a carriage. Then Sami asked if 
he was his cousin, and if this was the village of 
Zweisimmen? But the fellow laughed loudly 
and said he was no cousin, but a servant here in 
the inn, and the place was called Aigle. Sami 
would have to travel an hour longer and would 
not reach Zweisimmen before twelve o’clock at 
night. But there was a coachman here from 
Interlaken, who had to go back and would take 
him along. 

The man of the house had bread and eggs 
brought for Sami and when he said he wasn’t 
hungry, he put everything kindly into the boy’s 
pocket. Then he led the boy out. Outside 
stood a large coach with two horses and high up 
on the top sat the driver. No one was inside. 
Sami was lifted up, the driver placed him next 
himself and drove away. At any other time this 
would have pleased Sami very much, but now 
he was too sad. He kept thinking of his grand- 


32 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


mother, who could no longer talk with him and 
would never wake again. After some time the 
driver began to talk to him. Sami had to tell 
him where he came from and to whom he was 
going. He told him everything, how he had 
lived with his grandmother, how she had fallen 
asleep early that day, and did not wake up 
again ; and that he was going to find a cousin in 
Zweisimmen and would have to live with him. 
Sami’s childish description touched the driver so 
deeply that he finally said: 

“It will be too late when we reach there, you 
must stay with me to-night.” 

Then when he saw Sami’s eyes close with the 
approaching twilight and only open again when 
they went over a stone, and the two of them up 
on the box were jounced almost dangerously 
against each other, he grasped the boy firmly, 
lifted him up and slipped him backwards into 
the coach. Here he fell at once fast asleep and 
when he finally opened his eyes again, the sun 
was shining brightly in his face. He was lying 
in his clothes on a huge, big bed in a room with 
white walls. In all his life he had never seen 
such walls. He looked around in consternation. 



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ANOTHER LIFE 


33 


Then the coachman of the day before came in 
the door. 

“Have you had your sleep out?” he said laugh- 
ing. “Come and have some coffee with me. 
Then I will take you to your cousin. Some one 
else must carry your bundle. It is too heavy for 
you.” 

Sami followed him into the coffee-room. 
Here the good man kept pouring out coffee for 
the boy, but Sami could neither eat nor drink. 

When the coachman had finished his break- 
fast, he rose and started with Sami on the way 
to the sergeant’s house. It was not far. At the 
house in the meadow among the pear-trees he 
laid Sami’s bundle down, shook him by the hand 
and said: 

“Well, good luck to you. I have nothing to 
do in there and have farther to go.” 

Sami thanked him for all his kindness, and 
gazed after his benefactor, until he disappeared 
behind the trees. Then he knocked on the door. 
A woman came out, looked in amazement first 
at the boy, then at his big bundle, and said 
rudely: “Where have you come from with all 
your household goods?” 


34 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


Sami informed her where he had come from 
and that his grandmother was Mary Ann, and 
his father, Sami. Meanwhile three boys had 
come running up to them, placed themselves 
directly in front of him, and were looking at 
him from top to toe with wide-open eyes. This 
embarrassed Sami exceedingly. 

“Bring your father out,” said the mother to 
one of her boys. Their father was sitting in- 
side at the table, eating his breakfast. 

“What’s the matter now?” he growled. 

“There is someone here, who claims to be a 
relative of yours. He doesn’t know where he 
is going,” exclaimed his wife. 

“He can come in to me, perhaps I can tell 
him, if I know,” replied the man, without mov- 
ing. 

“Well, go in,” directed the woman, giving 
Sami an assisting push. The boy went in and 
replied very timidly, where he had come from 
and to whom he had belonged. The peasant 
scratched his head. 

“Make quick work of it,” said the woman 
impatiently, who had followed with her three 
boys. 

“I think we have enough with the three of 


ANOTHER LIFE 


35 


them, and there are people who might need such 
a boy.” 

“This is quickly decided,” said the peasant, 
thoughtfully cutting his piece of bread in two; 
“send all four boys out.” 

After this command had been carried out, he 
continued slowly: “There is no help for it. It 
was stipulated at the time the house was sold, 
that room must be made in the house if either 
Mary Ann, Sami or the child should come back. 
Besides, it is not so bad as it seems. Where 
three sleep together there is room for a fourth, 
and he can do some work for his food. The 
parish can do something for his clothes.” 

His wife had no desire to have a fourth added 
to her three boys, for her own made enough noise 
and trouble for her. She protested, saying she 
knew how it was with such stray children and 
they could expect to have a fine time! 

But it was of no use ; it was decided that Sami 
should have a place in the house. The farmer 
brought in the bundle and carried it up to the 
oldest boy’s room, where until now the broad- 
shouldered Stofii had slept in a bed alone. He 
could take Sami in with him, for he was smaller 


36 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


than the other two; Michael and Uli could stay 
together as before. 

Then the woman opened the bundle. She was 
not a little surprised, when she found inside not 
only Sami’s clothes, all in the best of order, 
but also two good dresses, aprons and necker- 
chiefs. She called Sami up to her, and showed 
him the corner in the chest where she had put 
his things. Then she said she would take the 
woman’s clothes for herself, since he could surely 
make no use of them. The clothes which his 
grandmother had always worn were so dear to 
Sami, that he looked on with sad eyes, as they 
were carried away, but he thought it had to be*so. 

He had already made the acquaintance of the 
three boys. They had shown him below in front 
of the house how one of them could best throw 
down the others, and had demonstrated all sorts 
of useful tricks. But as each tried to outdo the 
others in showing off his knowledge, a struggle 
ensued and the tricks were immediately applied ; 
one threw another over the third. Sami was 
knocked and thrown around by all three. 

When he now came down from his room a 
voice from the barn called out: ‘‘Come here 
and help pull.” 


ANOTHER LIFE 


37 


Sami ran along. There stood the two younger 
boys, Michael and Uli, with great hoes on their 
shoulders, and Stoffi beside a cart which had 
to be taken along. They waited for their father, 
and then all went out to the field. Here Stoffi 
and Sami had to rake together the grass, which 
the father cut, and load it on the cart, and bring 
home to the cows. Michael and Uli had to hoe 
the weeds in the next field near by. Now it 
appeared that Sami did not know at all how to 
use the rake, for he had never done such work. 

“He shall weed with Uli, and Michael can do 
this work,” said the farmer. 

But when Sami tried to do this, the hoe was 
too heavy for him, and he could do nothing. 

“Then kneel on the ground and pull them up 
with your hands,” said the farmer. 

Sami squatted down and pulled at the weeds 
with all his might. The ground was hard and 
the work very tiresome. But Sami did not for- 
get how his grandmother had impressed it upon 
him to do all his work well and willingly. 

At noon the two weeders took their hoes on 
their shoulders and Sami had to pull the cart, 
which was now much heavier than on the way 
there. The boy had to use all his strength, for 


38 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


Stoffi showed him plainly that he would not take 
upon himself the larger part of the work. 

Then when they passed by the field the father 
indicated to each one the piece he would have 
to weed that afternoon; for he himself would be 
obliged to go to the cattle market. They would 
find a smaller hoe at home for Sami to take with 
him in the afternoon, for pulling up the weeds 
was too slow work. 

After the boys had worked several hours in 
the afternoon, they sat down in the shade of an 
old apple-tree to eat their luncheon, and the 
piece of black bread with pear juice tasted very 
good after the hot work. 

“Have you ever seen a bear?” asked Stoffi of 
Sami. 

He said he had not. 

“Then you would be fearfully frightened if 
you should suddenly see one,” continued Stoffi; 
“only those who know them are not afraid of 
them. This evening there is to be one in the vil- 
lage, and, as I am almost through with my piece 
in the field, you can finish it, so I can go early 
to see the bear.” 

Sami agreed. When all four had begun to 
hoe again, Stoffi soon exclaimed: 


ANOTHER LIFE 


39 


“Well, you won’t have much more to do now, 
Sami, but keep your promise, or ” 

Stoffi doubled up his fist, and Sami under- 
stood what that meant. 

He had hardly gone when Michael said: 

“See, Sami, there isn’t much left of mine, you 
can do that too; I am going to see the bear.” 

Whereupon Michael ran off. 

“Me, too,” cried Uli, throwing down his hoe. 
“You can finish that also, Sami.” 

When the twilight came on and the family put 
the sour milk and the steaming potatoes on the 
table, Sami was missing. 

“I suppose he will keep us waiting,” remarked 
the farmer’s wife sharply. When all had fin- 
ished and the milk mugs were empty, the woman 
cleared them away and placed the few potatoes 
left over on the kitchen table and growled: 

“He can eat here, if he wants anything.” 

It was quite dark, and Sami still had not come. 
Just as the other three were being sent to bed, he 
came in, so tired he could hardly stand. The 
woman asked him harshly, if he couldn’t come 
home with the others. The farmer assumed that 
the piece he had told Sami to weed had been too 
much for him to do, and he said consolingly: 


40 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


“It is right that you wanted to finish your 
work, but you must work faster.” 

Sami understood the signs which Stoffi made 
behind his father’s back, that he was to keep si- 
lent about the bear, and he was too much afraid 
of the three boys’ fists to say anything about it. 

He preferred to go straight to bed, for he was 
too tired to eat. But he couldn’t go to sleep. He 
had received so many new impressions, he had 
borne so much anguish, and had to do so much 
work besides, he could think of nothing else. But 
now his grandmother came before his eyes again 
as she had prayed with him at evening and had 
been so kind to him, and everything she had told 
him. He wanted so much to pray, it seemed to 
him as if his grandmother was near and told him 
the dear Lord would always comfort him if he 
prayed, and that comfort he was so anxious to 
have. 

He was so troubled, when he wondered if he 
could do his work the next day, so that the farm- 
er would not be cross, and how his wife would 
be, for he was very much afraid of her, and how 
it would be with the boys, who forced him to make 
everything appear contrary to the truth. 

Then Sami began to pray and prayed for a 


ANOTHER LIFE 


41 


long time, for he already began to feel comforted, 
because he could take refuge with the dear Lord 
and ask Him to help him, now that he had no one 
left in the world to whom he could speak and who 
could assist him. When at last his eyes closed 
from great weariness he dreamed he was sitting 
with his grandmother on the wall and above them 
all the birds were singing so loud and so joyfully 
that he had to sing with them: 

“Only trust the dear Lord!” 


CHAPTER FOURTH 


HAKD TIMES 

T he following morning Sami was awak- 
ened by loud tones, but it was no longer 
the birds singing; it was the farmer’s 
wife ordering the boys harshly to get up right 
away. She had already called them three times, 
and if this time they didn’t obey, their father 
would come. Then they all sprang out of bed 
and in a few minutes were down-stairs, where 
their father was already sitting at the table and 
would not have waited much longer. 

The day did not pass very differently from the 
one before, and thus passed a long series of days. 
There was already a change in the work. 

Sami, little by little, learned to do everything 
very well, for he took pains and followed his 
grandmother’s advice carefully. He always had 
something to do for the other boys still, so that 
he never finished his work a moment before sup- 
per-time. But he was no longer late. A change 
had also come about in this. StofS had learned 
that there was one thing Sami could not or would 
42 


HARD TIMES 


43 


not do which he himself could do very well: he 
could not tell a lie. 

He had been late again a couple of times, but 
had never told the reason. Finally, however, the 
farmer had spoken harshly: 

“Now speak out, and tell why you can’t get 
through your work faster ; you are quick enough 
when anyone is watching you.” 

Then Sami had accordingly told all the truth, 
and the father had threatened to beat the boys 
if they didn’t do their work themselves. After- 
wards Stoffi had thrashed Sami to punish him, 
and had warned him that he would do it every 
time Sami complained of him. 

Sami had replied that he had never complained 
and didn’t want to do so, but when his father 
questioned him he could only tell him the truth. 
Stoffl tried to explain to him that it didn’t matter 
whether he told the truth or not, but here he 
found Sami more obstinate than he had ex- 
pected, and no matter what fearful threats he 
hurled at him, he always said the same thing in 
the end: 

“But I shall do it.” 

This firmness was the result of Sami’s sure 
conviction that the dear Lord heard and knew 


44, WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


everything and that lying was something wicked, 
which did not please Him. 

So Stoffi had to find some other way to get off 
from his work early and make Sami finish what 
he left. He found that all three could never dare 
abandon their work and leave it for Sami, but 
one of them might do so each evening, and he 
threatened to punish his brothers severely if they 
would not agree to this. Then there would al- 
ways be three or four evenings in succession when 
Stoffi wanted to go away early ; then the brothers 
had to stay and work, and this led to many a 
quarrel, with heavy blows which regularly fell 
upon Sami. 

So he never had any happy days. But every 
evening he could be alone with his thoughts of his 
grandmother, of all the beautiful bygone days 
and all the good words she had spoken to him. 
Nobody troubled him, or called to him, or pulled 
him then, as usually happened all day long. 

Thus the Summer and Autumn passed away, 
and a cold Winter had come. There was no 
more work to be done in the fields and meadows, 
but there were all sorts of things to be done to 
help the farmer in the barn and his wife in the 
house and the kitchen. This Sami had to do. 


HARD TIMES 


45 


Meanwhile their own three boys could go to 
school, which had now begun again, for they had 
to get some education. Sami could get that by 
and by. In the Summer he had acquired a good 
deal of quickness and now did his work so skil- 
fully that the farmer said a couple of times: 

‘T would not have believed it, for in the Sum- 
mer he was always the last.” 

Sami now thought that everything would go 
easier than in the Summer, but something came 
which was much harder to bear than the extra 
burden of work, which was too much for the 
others. 

Every day the boys fought in the field outside, 
and Sami, as the smallest, always came off with 
the most blows. But that was the end of it, and 
when the boys came home at night no one thought 
any more about it. In the evening the three boys 
were assigned to the little room with the feeble 
light of a low oil lamp, to do their arithmetic for 
school, while Sami had to cut apples and pears 
for drying. From the first the three were angry 
because Sami had no arithmetic to do, and then 
one would accuse the other of taking the light 
away from him, and all three would scream that 
Sami didn’t need any at all for his work. Then 


46 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


one would pull the lamp one way, and another 
the other way, until it was upset and the oil would 
run over the table into Sami’s apples. Then 
there would be a really murderous tumult in the 
darkness; all hands would grope in the oil and 
one would always outcry the others. Then the 
mother would come in very cross and want to 
know who was always starting such mischief. 
Then one would blame the other, and finally the 
blame would fall on Sami, because he made the 
least noise. Usually the farmer too came in then, 
and his angry wife would always reply that she 
had indeed said the boy would be an apple of dis- 
cord in the house, and a Winter like this they 
had never experienced. Often Sami had to en- 
dure many hard words and undeserved punish- 
ment. On such evenings he remained sleepless 
for a long time sitting on his bed. 

Then he would rack his brains as to how it 
could happen so, since his grandmother had told 
him that if he was God-fearing everything would 
happen for the best. That he should be so scold- 
ed and badly treated was not the best for him. 
He really wanted to be God-fearing and not for- 
get that the dear Lord saw and heard everything. 


HARD TIMES 


47 


But Sami was still very young and could not 
know, what he later knew, that it is good for 
everyone if he learns early in life to bear hard- 
ship. Then when the evil days, which none es- 
cape, come again later on, he can cope with them 
bravely, because he knows them already and his 
strength has become hardened; and when the 
good days come he can enjoy them as no one else 
can who has never tasted the bad ones. 

At this time Sami knew nothing about this and 
almost never went to sleep without tears ; indeed, 
he often wondered whether the birds were still 
calling up in the ash-trees: “Only trust in the 
dear Lord!” and if it were still true that every- 
thing would come out right. The only comfort 
for him was that his grandmother had told him 
so positively, and he held fast to that. 

It was a long, hard Winter. The snow lay so 
deep and immovable on the meadows and trees, 
that Sami often asked with anxiety in his heart, 
if it could ever entirely disappear, so that the 
meadows would be green again, and the flowers 
become alive. It was already April, and the cold 
white covering of snow still lay all around. Then 
a warm wind from the South blew all one night 
into the valley, and when on the next day a very 


48 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


warm rain fell, the obstinate snow melted into 
great brooks. Then came the sun and dried up 
all the brooks, and everywhere the new young 
grass sprang up over the meadows. 

The four boys came across the big street of 
the village and turned into the meadow. They 
were pulling along the cart, on which lay the 
cooking utensils which the farmer’s wife had just 
purchased at the annual fair in the village. The 
boys had followed their mother’s command to go 
slowly and carefully, so that nothing would be 
broken, for they knew very well that their mother 
set great store by these things, and it was worth 
while to follow her instructions. 

Now that they had come safely over the rough 
street and had turned into the meadow road, two 
pulling, two pushing, they wanted to rest a little 
while. They stopped under the first large pear- 
tree, stretched themselves out on the ground and 
looked up into the blue sky. In the pear-tree 
above, the birds were singing merrily together, 
and suddenly one piped up in the midst of the 
others, always the same note, exactly as if he had 
a special call to give. 

‘‘There he is,” cried Sami, springing up from 
the ground with delight. Then he listened again. 


HARD TIMES 


49 


and again sounded the staccato call, clear and 
sharp above the singing of all the other birds. 

“Do you hear it? Do you hear it?” cried Sami 
in his delight. “Now he is calling again: ‘Trust! 
Trust! Trust! Trust!’ And then they all sing 
together : ‘Only trust the dear Lord !’ ” 

“You are just talking nonsense!^’ exclaimed 
Stoffi to the happy Sami. “The bird is more 
knowing than you are. That is the rain bird; I 
know him well. He notices the rain-wind and is 
calling: ‘Shower! Shower! Shower!’ Then we 
know it is going to rain.” 

But Sami would not give up what was so dear 
to him and kept saying to himself : 

“But he is singing: ‘Trust! Trust! Trust! 
Trust!’ 

“Keep quiet!” continued Stoffi sharply to him. 
“You are nothing but a little tramp, who can’t 
do anything and doesn’t know anything and 
twists everything he hears.” 

Then the blood rose to Sami’s cheeks and the 
tears came into his eyes and, more courageously 
than usual towards Stoffi, he cried: 

“I don’t do that, but you have done it many 
times!” 

Then Stoffi sprang up and seized hold of Sami 


50 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


to throw him down; but in his anger Sami turned 
quite differently from usual, so that Stoffi had 
to call the others to help him. 

A great struggle ensued; the blows became 
more and more violent, first on one side and then 
on the other. Suddenly the cart was upset. A 
fearful cracking and crashing sounded, and a 
great heap of red, brown and white crockery lay 
on the ground. Dumb with fright, the boys stood 
and looked at the destruction. 

Stoffi was the first to recover himself. 

‘^‘We will say that a wheel came off the cart, 
and it suddenly fell down.” He immediately 
picked up a big stone in order to pound out the 
nail and take the wheel off from the axle. 

“I shall say just how it all happened, that we 
quarreled, and upset the wagon,^’ said Sami 
calmly. 

Then Stoffi’s wrath rose to its height. 

“You traitor, you spy and mischief-maker!” 
he screamed. “You are nothing but a ragamuf- 
fin. We will force you.” 

“You cannot,” said Sami, “and you are no 
good either ! If you were God-fearing, you would 
not want to lie so.” 


HARD TIMES 


51 


“Well, well,” they all screamed together, and 
shaking their fists in the most threatening way. 
“You needn’t say that. We are just exactly 
as God-fearing as you, and even much more 
so!” 

Suddenly a new thought came to Stoffi. He 
ran off with all his might, and Michael and Uli 
rushed after him. Sami saw that they were 
hurrying to the house; he followed slowly 
after. The farmer’s wife had come back to the 
house by a shorter way, and the farmer was just 
returning home too from the field, when the three 
boys came rushing along. The whole family was 
standing in great excitement at the door and all 
were talking loudly together and making threat- 
ening gestures, when Sami came along. He was 
met by the farmer, shaking his fist, and his wife 
threw such harsh words at him that he stood quite 
dumfounded. 

“That was the last straw,” she said, “that 
after all the kindness he had received he should 
tell them they were not God-fearing people.” 

Then the farmer joined in. Such talk was 
insolent from Sami, and it had been known 
for a long time how upright they were in his 


52 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


house, before such a scamp had come there and 
tried to show them the way. Then his wife be- 
gan again and said Sami would have nothing 
more to do in her house; for he had brought 
nothing but trouble since he stepped into it; he 
could go to his room, and she would come right 
along. 

Sami was so surprised and confused by all the 
attacks and charges, that he had stood quite dumb 
until now. 'Now he wanted to explain how the 
cart had been upset, but the father said they knew 
everything already, and all he had to do was to 
go to his room. He obeyed. 

Soon the farmer’s wife came upstairs, packed 
Sami’s things together and tied them up again 
into a bundle, which was now much smaller than 
when he had brought it there, for some pieces of 
his old things had been worn out and were not 
replaced, and his grandmother’s clothes were no 
longer there. 

While she was packing the woman kept on 
talking very angrily about Sami’s wickedness 
and insolence, so that he now for the first time 
understood it all. The boys had stated that he 
had reproached them for not being God-fearing 
people; they had punished him for it, and 


HARD TIMES 


53 


through his resistance he had overturned the cart. 
Sami now tried to explain to the woman that it 
had not happened so, but she said she knew 
enough, threw his tied-up bundle beside his bed, 
and went out. 

Now for the first time Sami was able to think 
over what had happened to him and what was 
going to come. Then he was angry because he 
had to bear such injustice and not once have a 
chance to speak. And now he was driven out, 
or perhaps he would be sent to people where it 
would be even worse for him. Then he was so 
overcome with anger and fear and anguish, that 
he began to cry aloud and called out: 

“Yes, yes. Grandmother, you said if I was 
God-fearing everything would happen to me for 
the best; and I have been, and now it has hap- 
pened this way!” 

But with the thought of his grandmother, there 
rose in his heart all the memories of his life with 
her, how they had wandered so peacefully through 
the meadows, and how beautiful it had been under 
those trees, how the birds had sung and the brook 
murmured, and suddenly Sami was mightily 
overcome, and he exclaimed: 

“Away! away! Over there! over there!” 


54 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


From that moment on a bright light rose in 
his heart. It was hope in a new life as beautiful 
as the first had been. Then Sami said his even- 
ing prayer gladly and fell asleep. 


CHAPTER FIFTH 


THE BIEDS ARE STILL SINGING 

T he next morning when Sami sat at the 
table with the family, no one said a word 
to him. The farmer’s wife pushed a 
piece of bread towards his coffee-cup and made 
up an unfriendly face. The farmer was no 
different. The three boys looked sourly down 
at their coffee-cups, for they had no good con- 
sciences, and all three feared that their lies of the 
day before might yet be found out, if Sami 
should happen to speak. 

When they rose from the table, the farmer 
said shortly: 

“Get your bundle! I shall have to lose more 
time with you, until I have found a place for 
you, for surely no one will want you.” 

Since the night before a change had taken 
place in Sami. He no longer hung his head, as 
he had done almost always before from fear; he 
lifted it up and said: 

“I know already where I must go.” 

55 


50 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


The farmer and his wife looked at each other ' 
in astonishment, 

‘T want to go over the mountains,” he added. 

“Yes, that is best, that he should go back there, 
where he came from,” said the farmer’s wife 
quickly; “there will no doubt be someone going 
over there from the inn. Go quickly with him 
up there.” 

This seemed right to the farmer also. The 
leave-taking was as short as possible, and Sami 
was light-hearted when he started with his little 
bundle on his back away from his cousins’ house. 

At the inn, sure enough, they found a driver 
who was going with a big wood- wagon to Cha- 
teau d’CEux. He was ready to take the boy 
with him and thought he would be able to find 
someone to take him farther, if the boy knew his 
way down there on the French side. The farmer 
said Sami had been brought up there and wanted 
to go back, he knew where. 

Now the driver was ready. Sami’s bundle was 
thrown into the wagon and the boy seated on it. 

“Good luck!” said the farmer, gave Sami his 
hand and went away. 

Then the driver swung himself up on his seat 
and the two strong horses started off. Although 


THE BIRDS ARE STILL SINGING 57 


the wood-wagon was far less handsome and easy 
than the coach in which Sami had come, still he 
sat much happier in his hard seat than when he 
had left his grandmother lying so alone and had 
to go away, without knowing where. Now he 
was going home, where he knew everything and 
where everything was dear to him, every tree and 
every wall by the way; and although he wouldn’t 
see his grandmother any longer, he would find 
all the places where he had been with her and 
where it was more beautiful than anywhere else. 

With these thoughts a multitude of questions 
arose in Sami’s mind: Would everything be still 
the same as before? Would the ash-trees still 
be standing there by the wall? and the red and 
yellow flowers be growing on the hillside? And 
Sami had so much to think about that he didn’t 
notice how the time was passing. So he was very 
much astonished when the wagon stopped, for 
they had come to a large village, and the driver 
took firm hold of him, lifted him up and set him 
down on the street. Sami looked around him. 
They had stopped in front of an inn, above which 
a big brown bear stood for a sign and which was 
surrounded by all kinds of vehicles. But he 
couldn’t look around any longer, for the driver 


58 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


had already seized him again and lifted him to- 
gether with his bundle into another team and 
then went away. Soon he came back with a large 
piece of bread and said: 

“There, eat; you still have far to go.” 

“Are we yet in Chateau d’CEux?” asked Sami. 

“Yes, to be sure, but you are going farther,” 
was the reply; then the driver disappeared. 

Sami was now sitting in a small country wagon 
to which an enormous horse was harnessed. No 
one was as yet up in the high seat, but Sami 
was seated with his bundle back in the empty 
space on the floor. Then two big, stout men 
climbed up on the high seat, and they started 
away. After a short time Sami’s eyes closed in- 
voluntarily, he slipped off on the floor of the 
wagon, his head fell over on his bundle, and he 
sank into a deep sleep. When he woke again, 
he was still in the wagon on the floor, but every- 
thing was quiet around him; he did not hear the 
horse trotting; the wagon was no longer moving 
forward. It looked very strange all around him. 
He looked, and looked again, until he realized 
what had happened. The wagon was standing 
without horse or driver in a shed; they had for- 
gotten Sami and left him lying there. 


THE BIRDS ARE STILL SINGING 59 


“Where can I be?” Sami asked himself. The 
door of the shed stood open, and outside there 
was bright sunshine. Sami climbed down from 
his sleeping-place, stepped outside and went a 
little way farther around the house, which stood 
directly in front of the shed. Then he knew 
everything about it — ^there stood the house with 
the garden, where he had taken the beautiful 
coach; right before him was the railway station 
— he was in Aigle again. Only a little way far- 
ther in the train and he would be at home! 

Then it came to Sami that here he could no 
longer talk with the people, for now he was 
among the French. But he knew what to do. 
He still had the little bag with his grandmother’s 
money. He ran to the place where the people 
were getting their tickets, laid a piece of money 
in front of the little window, and said: “La 
Tour!” 

Immediately he had his ticket; he sprang in- 
to the train, whieh was already standing outside, 
and crouched down quickly in his corner, the very 
same corner where he had sat before with Herr 
Malon. He knew all the names which were 
called out at the stations; nearer and nearer he 
came — now — “La Tour!” He jumped down 


60 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


and ran to the right across the fields, then to the 
left up the hill. He knew every tree along the 
way. Now — ^there stood the wall, there stood the 
ash-trees and their tops were waving to and fro. 
Underneath, the clear brook was murmuring, and 
above, on the hillside, the bright sun was shining 
on the big golden primroses and the red anem- 
ones. It was all exactly as it had been before! 
Moreover, above — oh, that was the most beau- 
tiful of all! — up in the ash-trees the birds were 
piping and singing as loudly and as merrily as 
ever and, to be sure, there was the chief singer, 
the finch. ‘‘Trust! Trust! Trust! Trust!” 
sounded his clear song, and all the birds joined 
in with their warbling and rejoiced loudly: 

“Only trust the dear Lord!” 

Sami was so overcome because everything was 
still exactly the same as he had known it before, 
that he stood speechless for a long time and lis- 
tened, looking around him and listening again. 
It seemed so good to him and he had never felt 
such happiness in his heart since that evening 
when he had sat there with his grandmother. 
Now his grandmother rose so vividly before him, 
that he suddenly threw himself down on the wall 
and wept. She was no longer there, and would 


THE BIRDS ARE STILL SINGING 61 


come back to him no more. But all the good 
words she had spoken to him here that evening 
rose vividly in his heart, and it seemed as if he 
distinctly heard her talking again, and as if she 
must really be quite near and see him. 

Sami straightened himself up again, sat a 
while longer listening, and then began to think 
what he should do. At first he wanted to go to 
Malon and ask him if he could work for him, per- 
haps get out the weeds in his vineyard. But he 
could not explain to him why he was there again ; 
they would not understand each other and Malon 
might think he had done something wrong and 
had been sent away for it by his cousin. But 
perhaps the woman who always gave mending 
to his grandmother would set him to work in her 
garden. She lived down below, near the Lake. 
He jumped down from the wall. Once more he 
looked at the hillside, and up into the tree, but 
he could come here again ; he was here and could 
stay here. 

On the way he thought how he could explain 
to the woman what he wanted to do for her. He 
would bend down and show her how he could pull 
up the weeds ; then he would show her by a gest- 
ure that he knew how to hoe. 


62 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


There stood already the old castle of La Tour 
before him, with its two high, weather-beaten 
towers, which he had looked at so many times. 
All around and high up .thick ivy covered the 
old walls, and above them multitudes of merry 
birds were chirping. Sami had to stop and listen 
to their happy singing for a while, then he went 
along by the high old wall around the courtyard, 
for he wanted to see if it was still the same as 
before down below in the lonely place where the 
water kept falling on the old stones and singing 
a gentle song. He had once stood there a long 
time with his grandmother. There lay the place 
before him, but it was not lonely. A big wagon 
was standing there, with a grey cover stretched 
over it. No horse stood in front of it, but a thin 
nag was nibbling the hedge, and this evidently 
belonged to the wagon. Near the old castle 
tower a fire was blazing merrily; a man was sit- 
ting by it, hammering with all his might. Close 
by him four little children were crawling around 
on the ground. Sami stood still at this unex- 
pected sight, then came slowly a little nearer. 
Then he heard the man warning the children not 
to come so near the fire. This he was doing in 
Sami’s own language, exactly as all the people 


THE BIRDS ARE STILL SINGING 63 


in Zweisimmen had spoken. This gave courage 
to Sami; he came along quite near, and watched 
the man mend a hole in an old pan. 

“Does it please you?” asked the man, after 
Sami had looked on attentively for some time. 
The boy answered by nodding his head. 

“Are you French, that you can’t talk?” asked 
the man again. 

Sami then said he could talk, but not at all in 
French, but he was glad that the tinker spoke 
German, because otherwise he would not be able 
to understand anyone there. 

“Whom do you belong to?” asked the man 
again. 

“Nobody,” answered Sami. 

Then the man wanted to know where he had 
come from and why he had come among the 
French. Sami told him his history, and how he 
had only come there again that morning. 

“And now don’t you know at all what you are 
going to do, and where you are going?” asked 
the man. 

Sami said he did not. 

“If I knew that you would do something, and 
not just stand around and look in the air, I would 
give you work,” continued the man, “but such 


64» WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


stray waifs as you are not willing to do any- 
thing.” 

Meanwhile a woman had come from the wagon. 
She had heard her husband’s last words. 

“Take him,” she said. “What work is there 
for him? He might run errands; all boys can do 
that. I never get through with the running about 
and the four bawlers, and the cooking besides; 
take him!” 

“Well, stay here,” said the man; “you can 
carry the pan back; it is very good that you know 
the way.” 

Sami had suddenly found a place; he did not 
himself know how, but he was very glad about it. 
Quite content, he started out with his pan and 
did exactly as the tinker had told him. He wan- 
dered through the long street of La Tour, went 
into every house and showed his mended pan. 
He made significant gestures, to make the peo- 
ple understand that he would like to get more 
articles to mend. This he did so eagerly and 
earnestly that most of the people burst out laugh- 
ing, and this put them in such good humor that 
they always found a pan or a kettle with a hole 
in it which they handed him to be repaired. 

Thus in a short time Sami had collected as 





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THE BIRDS ARE STILL SINGING 65 


much old stuff as he was able to carry, and could 
now take his pan to the house pointed out to him, 
where it belonged. Then he turned back. 

The tinker was very much pleased with Sami’s 
harvest and his wife said very kindly, if he kept 
on doing like that, he would get along all right, 
but he must sit down at once and have some sup- 
per. The four little children were no longer 
there. Sami guessed that they were lying out 
in the wagon asleep. On the fire a pot was now 
standing. It was bubbling merrily inside and 
from under the cover came forth a very inviting 
odor. Sami had never been so hungry in his life 
before, for he had had nothing the whole day but 
the rest of the piece of bread which the driver 
had given him the day before in Chateau d’CEux. 

The woman took the cover off the pot and filled 
three dishes with the good-smelling soup. Each 
of the three now placed his dish before him on the 
ground, and the meal began. 

Nothing had ever tasted so good to Sami in 
all his life as this soup. It was not a thin soup, 
it was as thick as pulp, of cooked peas and pota- 
toes, and with this quite large lumps of meat came 
into his spoon. 

When he had finished, the woman said: 


66 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


“You can go to sleep whenever you want to. 
In the back of the wagon there is room, and your 
bundle will make a good pillow.” 

This seemed a little strange to Sami, and he 
said: 

“Must I sleep in my clothes?” 

The woman thought he would find that he 
would not be too warm in the night. He would 
be ready all the sooner in the morning. Then he 
could wash his face quickly down in the lake and 
be all in order again for the next day. 

Sami was tired. He went immediately to the 
wagon and climbed up from the back, and was 
able to slip in under the big cover. There was a 
little room where he could lie down, and next him 
came the four little children, one after another. 
Sami sat down and said his evening prayer. Then 
he thought of his grandmother for a while, and 
what she would say if she could see him thus in 
the wagon, and know that he would have to sleep 
all the time in his clothes, and if only she could 
see how it looked in the wagon, so dirty and in 
disorder. She had been so neat and orderly about 
everything and had kept him so clean from a 
baby up. But she had never spoken to him about 
this, as about other things which he must avoid. 


THE BIRDS ARE STILL SINGING 67 


and perhaps the people were quite God-fearing; 
then he ought to stay with them. That would 
be as his grandmother wished. Then he placed 
his bundle under his head, and went peacefully 
to sleep. 


CHAPTER SIXTH 


SAMI SINGS TOO 

S AMI had now been working five days for 
the tinker, and had passed his nights in the 
wagon. He was well treated, for the man 
and his wife were pleased with him. Every day 
Sami dragged along such a pile of old pans, pots 
and kettles, that they both wondered where he 
found them. His grandmother had not charged 
him in vain to do everything he had to do as well 
as he possibly could, because the dear Lord al- 
ways saw what he was doing. 

He never loitered on the way, and if a woman 
was going to send him away quickly and would 
not listen to him, then he looked at her so be- 
seechingly that she would find an old pan some- 
where and bring it out. From morning till night 
he ran with the greatest zeal, in order to get as 
much work as possible for his master, and the 
praise he won every evening he enjoyed as much 
as the savoury soup which followed. 

Nevertheless Sami was not very well contented. 
68 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


69 


Every evening as he sat in the wagon, he had to 
think what his grandmother would say to all the 
dirt around him, and things pleased him less and 
less. The woman did not do for the little chil- 
dren as his grandmother had done for him. All 
four crawled around in the dirt and looked so 
that Sami didn’t care to have anything to do with 
them. If they cried they were knocked this way 
and that, and at night the woman took up one 
after another from the ground, put it in the 
wagon, pulled the dirty grey blanket over them 
and went away again. 

The largest boy could talk quite well. He 
could have learned a little prayer long before 
this, but the woman never taught him any. 

Such a homesickness for his grandmother now 
arose in Sami’s heart every evening that he had 
to bury his head deep in his bundle, so that no 
one would hear him sob. 

Often on his expeditions he would come near 
the wall, under the ash-trees, but he never went 
over to it, for he had to work and did not dare 
sit idle and listen to the birds. But every time 
he had looked longingly there and sent a whistle 
from a distance as greeting to the birds. 

From the old house on the hillside, from which 


70 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


one could look down at the ash-trees and the wall, 
he had brought a little kettle to the tinker, and 
was delighted at the thought of taking it back 
again, for then he could look down there for a 
moment and perhaps hear the birds. 

Two days had passed, and Sami hoped that on 
the following day the little kettle would be ready. 
When he returned that evening to the fire with 
his last collection, the tinker was sitting thought- 
fully there, turning the little kettle round and 
round in his hands. His wife was looking over 
his shoulders and both were scrutinizing the old 
kettle as if it were something unusual. 

‘Tt is as like the other as if it were its brother,” 
said the wife. “You know how the man said you 
must not spoil the pictures scratched on it, and 
on that account he gave you so much more for it. 
Here are exactly the same figures on this, and the 
nose in front has just the same curve as the other, 
which he would not have mended for fear it would 
be spoiled.” 

“I see it all, surely,” said the man, “but I don’t 
know what can be done about it. With the other 
one I could say, it couldn’t be mended any more, 
for it looked much worse than this, and the 
people didn’t know that the old stuff was worth 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


71 


anything, and I wouldn’t have believed it was 
myself.” 

“They won’t know either. The boy brought 
the kettle from the old house up there. They 
only know the ground they hoe, but not such a 
thing as this. Just say it can’t be mended any 
more, it is not good for anything, and give them 
something for the copper. They will be satisfied 
enough. If we go back to Bern we will take 
it to the man, who will give eighty francs for 
it.” 

“That is true. We can do that,” said the man, 
delighted; “perhaps they won’t want anything 
for the kettle when they know they can’t use it 
any more. Come, Sami,” he called to the boy, 
who stood staring at them on the other side of 
the fire, and had heard and understood every- 
thing — “come here, I want to tell you some- 
thing.” 

Sami obeyed. 

“Run quickly up to the old house, where you 
brought the little kettle from, and say it isn’t 
good for anything, that it can’t be mended any 
more.” 

Sami, filled with horror, stared at the man. 

“Now hurry up and go along,” said his wife. 


72 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


who was still standing there; “you understand 
well enough what you have to do.” 

Sami continued looking at the man without 
moving, as if he really had not understood his 
words. 

“What is the matter with you? Why don’t 
you hurry along?” snarled the man to him. 

“I can’t do that. You are not God-fearing if 
you do such a thing as that,” said Sami. 

“What is it to you, what I do? Be quick and 
go along!” commanded the tinker, and his wife 
screamed angrily: 

“Do you think a little beggar like you is going 
to tell us what is God-fearing? We ought to 
know much better than you! Will you do at 
once what you are told, or not?” 

Sami did not stir. 

“Will you go and do what I told you, or ” 

The man raised his hand high up. Sami was 
pale with fright. Suddenly he turned around, 
ran to the wagon, took his bundle out, and ran 
with all his might up the road, turned to the right 
between the high walls and rushed on into the 
open field. Not a moment did he stop running, 
until he had reached the ash-trees. The spot was 
like a place of refuge to him. Breathless, he sat 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


73 


down on the wall. The twilight was already com- 
ing on and it was perfectly still all around. No 
one had run after him as he feared. He was 
quite alone. 

Now he began to think. It was all done so 
quickly that he had only now come to his senses. 
Yes, it was right that he had run away, for what 
he had to do was something wrong, and he had 
to come away because they were not God-fearing. 
It surely would seem right to his grandmother 
that he had done this. But where should he go 
now? The people had all gone home from the 
fields, perhaps were already asleep. Up in the 
ash-trees not one little bird made a single sound. 
They were surely all in their nests and fast asleep. 
If the dear Lord kept them up there in the trees 
safe from all harm, so that they could sleep so 
well. He would surely protect him too under the 
trees. In this spot he always had the feeling that 
his grandmother was nearer to him than any- 
where else, and this gave him confidence. So he 
laid himself down under the tree quite trustfully 
and immediately after he had ended his evening 
prayer, his eyes closed, for the brook was mur- 
muring such a beautiful slumber song under the 
ash-trees there. 


74f WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


Golden sunshine was streaming in Sami’s eyes 
when he awoke. Above him all the birds were 
warbling their morning song up into the blue 
sky. It sounded like pure thanksgiving and de- 
light. It awakened in Sami’s heart the same 
tones, and he had to sing praise and thanksgiv- 
ing, for the dear Lord had protected him too 
so well through the night and let His golden sun 
shine on him again. With a clear voice Sami 
joined in the glad chorus and sang a hymn of 
praise and thanksgiving, the only one he knew: 

“Last night Summer breezes blew: — 

All the flowers awake anew,” 

And when he had come to the end, he sang like 
the merry finch with all his might: 

“Trust ! Trust ! Trust ! Trust ! 

Only trust the dear Lord!” 

The song had awakened in Sami new assur- 
ance that he would find a piece of bread and 
some worthy work. This he wanted to look for 
now, for his grandmother had not impressed it 
upon him in vain from his earliest days, that in 
the morning after praying one should immedi- 
ately go to work. So Sami started off. 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


75 


He did not go down to the Lake this day, lest 
he should come near the tinker. With his bundle 
under his arm he wandered up the gradually 
rising field road. Where this crossed the narrow 
street, leading over to Clarens, Sami met a child’s 
carriage which a girl was pushing in front of her. 
She wore a spotless white cap and a white apron. 
Over the carriage, too, was spread a snow-white 
cover, and out from under it peeped a little head 
with bright golden hair and a little white hat 
on it. 

This unusual neatness and the smart appear- 
ance of the carriage attracted Sami very much 
and he followed along the same way. On the 
white carriage robe was worked a wreath of blue 
silk, but not of flowers. It was of strange fig- 
ures. The shining blue silk on the white cloth 
looked so beautiful that Sami could not keep his 
eyes away from it. Suddenly it became plain to 
him that the strange figures were letters, but he 
had never seen any like them in his life. Their 
appearance captivated him more and more. 
Then he began to try to see if he couldn’t spell 
them out and perhaps read the words. He tried 
as hard as he could, but it was difficult. Sami 
kept beginning over again from the first. Fi- 


76 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


nally he made out all the words. It was a prov- 
erb which read thus: 

“So let the little angels sing: 

This child is safe beneath our wing.” 

This proverb reminded him so much of his 
grandmother; he didn’t know why, but it seemed 
to him as if she had prayed exactly like this over 
his bed. The tears came to his eyes, and yet it 
seemed so good, just as if he had found his home 
again. The girl now turned suddenly to the left 
from the road, and went through the high iron 
gate which stood open, and led into a wide court- 
yard. Great, ancient plane-trees stood inside and 
cast their broad shade over the sunny courtyard. 
A large flower garden surrounded the high stone 
house, which looked forth from behind the trees. 

Sami followed the carriage into the courtyard. 
It stopped under the trees. 

“What do you want here? That is the way 
out,” said the girl impatiently to Sami, pointing 
so plainly to the gate that Sami would have un- 
derstood the meaning of her words even if her 
language had been foreign. But it was surely 
German, and he had understood it all very well, 
although he could not speak like that himself. 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


77 


His grandmother had told him that there were 
people who spoke just like the reading in the 
books. 

Sami did not reply, and the girl did not wait 
for him. She snatched the child quickly out of 
the carriage, took the beautiful robe over her 
arm, and went into the house. 

Meanwhile a little girl had come out of the 
house and was standing at some distance gazing 
at Sami with two big eyes. Now she came 
quickly forward, jumped nimbly into the empty 
carriage, and said: 

“Come, give me a ride!” 

“Where?” asked Sami. 

“Out there along the road, and far, far away!” 

Sami obeyed immediately. For a long while he 
trotted along without stopping. The little girl 
seemed to enjoy the ride. She looked so eagerly 
around with her bright eyes on every side, as if 
she couldn’t see enough. Then they came to a 
meadow thick with flowers. 

“Hold still! Hold still!” cried the little one 
suddenly, and sprang with a big jump out of the 
low carriage. 

“Now we must have all the flowers, every sin- 
gle one I Come !” 


78 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


And the little girl was already in the midst 
of the grass, stamping bravely forward. But 
Sami said quite prudently: 

“You mustn’t go so into the grass. It is for- 
bidden. But see, if we go around outside and 
take all the flowers you can reach, there will be 
a big bunch.” 

The little one came out, for she knev/ that she 
ought not to do what was forbidden. Then the 
flowers were gathered according to Sami’s ad- 
vice, but the little companion soon had enough 
of such exertion, seated herself on the ground 
and said: 

“Come, sit down by me. But you must not 
speak French to me. I have to learn that with 
Madame Laurent, but I would rather speak Ger- 
man, and you must do so too,” 

“I don’t speak French, I don’t know how,” 
replied Sami; “but I can’t speak like you either.” 

“Wliere do you come from then, if you don’t 
speak German and don’t speak French?” the 
little one wanted to know. 

Sami thought for a moment, then he said: 

“First I came from Chailly and then from 
Zweisimmen.” 

“No, no,” interrupted the little one warmly. 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


*79 


“People are never from two places, only from 
one. I am from Berlin, in Germany, you see. 
Then Papa bought an estate and now we are 
living on Lake Geneva. What is your name?” 

Sami told her. 

“And my name is Betti. Why did you come 
into the courtyard when Tina wanted to send 
you out?” 

Sami had to think for a while, then he said: 

“Because those words were on the robe, I knew 
they were God-fearing people where it belonged, 
and my grandmother told me I must stay with 
such people and never go away, for I should 
learn nothing but good from them.” 

“Must you stay with us now, and never go 
away again?” asked little Betti eagerly. 

“Yes, I think so,” answered Sami. “Perhaps 
I can weed the garden.” 

“That is right,” said Betti, delighted. “You 
see, Tina will not take me in the carriage; she 
says I am too big. Will you take me every day 
in the carriage to the meadow for ever so many 
hours?” 

“Yes, indeed, I will do that gladly,” promised 
Sami, “and you shall have all the flowers. Then 
I will take you besides to the trees where all the 


80 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


birds sing ‘Only trust the dear Lord !’ and where 
the finch cries so loud above them all: ‘Trust! 
Trust! Trust! Trust!’ Have you heard him 
too?” 

At this description little Betti’s eyes grew 
bigger and brighter with expectation. 

“Come now, let’s go right away to the birds,” 
she exclaimed, jumped up and ran in haste to 
the carriage. 

Sami followed. 

At this moment Tina, with a very red face, 
came running up from below. Her looks did not 
portend anything good. 

“So I have found you at last,” she cried an- 
grily from a distance. “Everybody is running 
around looking for you — ^your three brothers, the 
servants, the coachman — everybody ! I have run 
myself half dead for you. Sit down in the car- 
riage, you naughty little thing. The little tramp 
can go where he likes. No, he must come back 
again; his bundle is lying in the courtyard. So 
he can pull the carriage if he has to come with 
us.” 

Little Betti did not seem very much fright- 
ened by this lively speech. She climbed quickly 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


81 


into the carriage and said gaily: ‘‘Go ahead, 
Sami!” 

He obeyed quite crushed, for now he could 
only return for his bundle; then he would have 
to go away again, and he had so firmly believed 
this was the place where he was to stay accord- 
ing to his grandmother’s advice, and it had 
pleased him so much. He had started out in the 
morning full of trust from the song of the birds, 
and now he was returning very down-hearted the 
same way. 

When the three on their way home came to the 
courtyard, a tall man was standing there, look- 
ing out up and down the road; a lady was com- 
ing out of the house and going in again very 
restlessly, and three young boys were running 
first one way and then another, screaming at 
the top of their voices: 

“She is nowhere to be seen! She is nowhere 
to be seen!” 

But there she was, drawn by Sami, just coming 
into the courtyard. Before any question, re- 
proach or accusation could be heard in regard to 
the unlawful expedition, Betti had run straight 
to her Papa, and in his delight that she was safely 


82 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


there again, he had taken her in his arms, and 
with the greatest eagerness she said: 

“He will take me every day in the carriage. 
Papa, the whole day long, if I like, and bring 
all the flowers to me, because I must not go in 
the high grass. And he must always stay with 
us, because his grandmother knew about it, and. 
Papa, think, he knows birds that sing a whole 
song, and the finch sings above them all : ‘Trust ! 
Trust!’ We were going right to see them when 
Tina came and we had to come home. But now 
we can go, can’t we. Papa, right away? Sami 
will take me there again ; he isn’t tired yet. Only 
say yes. Papa.” 

“Your story is wonderful,” said her Papa, 
laughing. “Where is the little coachman whom 
you have engaged and who, according to his 
grandmother’s advice, must stay with us?” 

Meanwhile the three brothers had come run- 
ning along and, together with their mother, stood 
near their father under the gateway, so that 
Sami, who with his bundle on his arm was try- 
ing to go out, could not pass through, and had 
betaken himself very quietly to a corner of the 
courtyard. The master of the house now placed 
his daughter on the ground and looked towards 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


83 


the boy. But he was already surrounded, for 
during their little sister’s story the three brothers 
had made their examination and calculation and 
then had turned to the boy. Nine-year-old Ed- 
ward had decided with satisfaction that Sami 
was the one he had for a long time needed, for 
since the donkey, which had been given to him 
at Christmas, had overturned him and his little 
cart three times running, his father had forbid- 
den him to drive out again without the coach- 
man, Johann. But when Edward wanted to go 
out driving Johann was always occupied some 
other way, and when Johann announced that he 
could go it didn’t suit Edward at all. Now 
Sami was found, an attendant whom he could 
call whenever he wanted him. 

Eleven-year-old Karl was an enthusiastic 
archer, but to have to be always running after 
his arrows after they were shot and to hunt for 
them was very irksome to him. Suddenly some- 
one was found whom he could make use of to 
hunt for his arrows. 

Fourteen-year-old Arthur had permission to 
sail in his boat on the lake, but he needed some 
one to steer for him. Now here was a satis- 
factory boy, on the spot, whom he could teach. 


S4i WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


and have to steer for him. So it happened that 
there was a great uproar when their Papa drew 
near the group in the corner of the courtyard. 

“Keep him, Papa, I have enough work for 
him to do!” cried Arthur, while Karl’s voice 
was heard above his screaming: 

“Let him stay here. Papa, please, I need him 
so much !” 

But Edward’s piercing voice was heard above 
the other two: 

“Papa, he can drive the donkey, he must stay 
with us, then Johann won’t need to come with 
me any longer!” 

And in the midst of all sounded Betti’s high 
little voice, untiringly: 

“Can we go to see the birds now. Papa? Can 
we go now to the birds?” 

Then Papa turned away from the noisy group 
and said, laughing: 

“My dear wife, what do you say to this whole 
story?” 

The lady addressed had until now listened 
silently and watched Sami, whose eyes grew 
brighter and brighter the louder the children 
begged for him to stay. She looked at him 
kindly and said first of all she would like to 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


85 


know from him where he came from, and what 
the story which Betti told about his grandmother 
meant; he ought to tell where he had been liv- 
ing hitherto, who his parents were and who his 
grandmother was. 

The kind lady had inspired Sami with great 
confidence and he now told from the beginning 
all that he knew about his life up to the present 
moment, and also how he had come into the court- 
yard, on account of the proverb, which led him 
to believe that here lived the people with whom 
he should stay. 

When Sami came to an end, the lady turned 
to her husband and said: 

‘Tt is the dear Lord who has led him here. 
We cannot send him away!” 

The children all shouted together for joy. 

“Can we go to the birds now. Papa? Right 
away?” repeated Betti with irrepressible eager- 
ness. 

“By and by, by and by,” said her father, 
soothingly. “Sami is going with me first up to 
Chailly, to show me where Herr Malon lives. 
I want to talk with him. When we come back, 
we will see what to do first.” 

The mother understood that her husband 


86 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


wanted to have Herr Malon’s assurance that 
everything Sami had told was true, and held 
back the children, who all four were anxious to 
explain immediately to Sami what they desired 
of him. 

“But bring him back again. Papa!” cried Betti 
following after them as they started away. 

Herr Malon was very much surprised to see 
Sami again, and moreover in such company, for 
he recognized the master of the plane-tree estate 
at once. After the first greeting Sami was sent 
out doors for a little, and this delighted him very 
much, for now he could look at the garden again 
and the crooked maple-tree, under which he had 
so often sat with his grandmother. 

Herr Malon assured his guest that all Sami’s 
words were correct and besides gave a descrip- 
tion of Old Mary Ann, her fidelity and con- 
scientiousness, so that the gentleman was very 
glad to have such good news to carry to his wife. 

A loud shout of delight welcomed them on 
their return, and still louder was the applause, 
when their father announced that Sami was 
henceforth to remain in the house and be the 
children’s playmate. 

Sami did not know what to make of it. Since 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


87 


his grandmother’s death, no one had shown the 
slightest pleasure in his presence ; on the contrary 
everywhere he had felt as if he were tolerated 
only out of pity, and now he was received with 
loud rejoicing by the children of a house to 
which he had been more attracted than any- 
where else before, and where his grandmother 
would be glad to see him; of that he was sure. 

His heart was so overflowing with joy that 
he wanted to sing aloud and give praise and 
thanksgiving evermore like the finch; 

“Trust! Trust! Only trust the dear Lord!” 

* 

It is now ten years since Sami entered the 
plane-tree estate. Whoever passes by there on 
a beautiful Spring day will surely stand still at 
the high iron gateway and listen for a little, for 
there is seldom heard such a merry song as 
sounds from the thick branches of the plane- 
trees. Up in the tree sits the young gardener 
pruning the branches. At the same time he 
sings continually, like the merriest finch, and 
carols loudest the end of his song, accompanied 
by all the birds; 

“Only trust the dear Lord!” 


88 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


The young gardener is Sami. At first he 
received a good knowledge of reading, writing 
and arithmetic with the children of the house; 
later, according to his great wish, he was trained 
as a gardener of the estate. But he is now not 
only gardener, he has much more to oversee about 
the estate than any one would imagine. Arthur, 
who has just finished his studies, is still an ardent 
sailor. Without Sami, no trip is possible, and 
Arthur is apt to say: 

“Without God’s help and Sami’s assistance I 
should have been drowned twenty times.” 

When Karl comes from the university in his 
vacation, his first question is, “Where is Sami?” 
and this he asks numberless times every day, for 
without him he can never get ready. He alone 
knows where to find everything Karl needs in 
vacation-time for his amusements, from his old 
bow and quiver up to his riding whip and 
gun. 

Edward has now given up his donkey cart 
and instead is interested in strange animals, which 
have their dwelling-place in the back of the court- 
yard and often make a great spectacle there. 
He owns two marmots, two parrots and a mon- 
key. No one could manage these and keep them 


SAMI SINGS TOO 


89 


in order but Sami, and he does it so well and so 
successfully that Edward often exclaims: 

“Without Sami everything we have would go 
to ruin, animals and people, the animals for 
want of proper care and the people from anger 
over it/’ 

But Betti still remains Sami’s greatest friend. 
She can call him at any hour of the day she 
pleases, Sami is immediately on the spot, and 
Betti knows he is more devoted than any one 
else and besides can keep secrets like a stone. 
No one knows how many little notes he has to 
carry every week to the neighbouring estates. 
Sami will not tell, for her brothers would laugh 
at their sister Betti’s endless correspondence 
which she has with numerous girl friends around 
on all the estates. Sami is her most devoted 
friend, for he would run through fire and water 
for her without hesitation. He never forgets 
what persuasive words in his behalf Betti used 
with her father, when, broken-hearted, he was 
going to fetch his bundle and go away again. 

The youngest, Ella, with golden curls, who 
has taken over the donkey and cart from her 
brother Edward, is entrusted to Sami’s especial 
care when she desires to go for a drive. When- 


90 WHAT SAMI SINGS WITH THE BIRDS 


ever she brings out her white robe to spread over 
her knees, Sami’s eyes sparkle with delight and 
thankfulness as he remembers how the proverb 
led him to his good fortune, and still more at 
the memory of his grandmother, who brought 
about all this good, and whom he never forgets. 

When, recently, a lady, owning one of the 
neighbouring estates, proposed to Herr von K. 
to transfer his merry gardener to her, merely 
because the servants in her house had sullen faces, 
he replied: 

“You can have him, just as much as you can 
have one of my own children, if you should try 
to entice one away. Sami is the most faithful, 
trustworthy, conscientious person who has ever 
come in my way. I can leave my whole house 
and go wherever I will, I know that everything 
will be taken care of, as if I stood by. This is 
so because Sami has another Majster besides me, 
before whose eyes he performs all his work. The 
dear Lord himself sent my glad-hearted Sami 
to me, and I esteem him. He belongs to my 
house, and it shall remain his home!” 


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